Network security is often concerned with protecting information on network devices from unauthorized access and protecting information from unauthorized modification or destruction. Networks and networking devices are becoming increasing prevalent. The ability to monitor data flowing over a network and the ability to react to anomalous conditions in a sufficiently prompt manner through appropriate network-level actions can be an important consideration in the maintenance of reliable networks and network services.
Third-party developers often desire to develop applications that can be deployed on the network or system. There can be advantages to such a system. User interest in the network or system may increase where outside development involvement is permitted. A network or system developer can provide building blocks or a backbone for others to build on and the platform developer need not go through time and expense of developing many applications on their own. Networks or systems which allow outside development involvement may be referred to as “open” or having an “open architecture”.
Open architecture is a type of computer-related architecture (e.g. a software architecture, hardware architecture, network architecture, etc.) that can allow outside developers to add and modify components or applications. Standard hardware is often used in an open architecture since there are usually widely available drivers for any operating system that an application may run on. This allows third-parties to spend less time configuring an operating system or application to the open architecture hardware.
Use of an open architecture system can expose the architecture to third parties and allow third parties to access and even modify the architecture as the third party evolves and develops various applications. An open architecture a system administrator may retain administrative authority over what third-party modifications are ultimately implemented in the open architecture.
In an open architecture, all or part of the architecture that a developer or integrator wants to share can be published. Open architecture systems can often allow potential users to see inside all or part of the architecture without significant constraints. The system can have vulnerabilities, which can lead to security concerns. For example, a user may be able to improperly access information or make damaging changes to the system. While many advances in open architecture systems have been made, system security has remained an important issue that has not been well addressed in prior art systems or methods.